Linking actions associated with an anonymous user to a registered user account

ABSTRACT

First and second cookies are obtained from first and second devices, respectively. The first cookie includes a first ID corresponding to a registered user ID, which is in turn associated with first information indicating activities related to interactions of a registered user with a first website. The second cookie includes a second ID corresponding to an anonymous user ID, which is in turn associated with second information identifying activities related to interactions of an anonymous user with a second website. The first and second user IDS, and the first and second information, are stored in a database, and correlated to determine commonalities. In response to identifying at least one commonality a determination is made, based on the at least one commonality, that the registered user and the anonymous user are a single user. The database is updated to include a unified listener identifier (ULID) that links the registered user ID with the anonymous user ID.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present U.S. Utility Patent Application claims priority pursuant to35 U.S.C. § 120 as a continuation of U.S. Utility Application No.16/550,424, entitled “LINKING SEPARATE ANONYMOUS ACTIONS TO A COMMONUSER,” filed Aug. 26, 2019, scheduled to issue as U.S. Pat. No.11,200,598 on Dec. 14, 2021, which is a continuation of U.S. UtilityApplication No. 12/949,600, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROFILINGLISTENERS TO IMPROVE CONTENT DISTRIBUTION AND LISTENER RETENTION,” filedNov. 18, 2010, now abandoned, which claims priority pursuant to 35U.S.C. § 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/262,517, entitled“SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROFILING LISTENERS TO IMPROVE CONTENTDISTRIBUTION AND LISTENER RETENTION,” filed Nov. 18, 2009, all of whichare hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entirety and madepart of the present U.S. Utility Patent Application for all purposes.

FIELD

The present invention generally relates to data correlation, and moreparticularly to linking actions associated with an anonymous user to aregistered user account.

BACKGROUND

Currently listener data related to broadcast or streaming radio consistof disparate databases and loosely organized information. Such amorphouslistener data limits its usefulness. Parties interested in using andapplying the data are hindered in what they can accomplish. The lack ofcoherent listener data makes it difficult for media outlets toeffectively promote themselves to the listeners because a complete andusable representation of a listener's preferences, reactions,demographics, psychographics, etc., is not available.

It would, therefore, be desirable to devise more coherent method oflistener data gathering to enable the development of improved contentdistribution and advertising or promotional campaigns.

SUMMARY

The foregoing objects are achieved in a method of gathering listenerdata generally comprising obtaining first behavioral information from asingle user when the user visits a first website or mobile device andassigning a first user identifier to the single user, obtaining secondbehavioral information from the single user when the user visits asecond website or mobile device that provides a different product fromthe first website and assigning a second user identifier to the user,correlating the first behavioral information and the second behavioralinformation to determine that the first behavioral information and thesecond behavioral information are that of the single user, associatingthe first user identifier with the second user identifier, andassociating the first behavioral information with the second behavioralinformation. The method may use a device identifier to identify a userdevice that accesses a streaming media site, and store informationassociated with the media site and the behavior of the user. Credits canbe assigned to the user based on the user's behavior, and promotionsmade available to the user based on the user's behavior. The credits canthen be accepted as tender for one or more of the promotions.

The above as well as additional objectives, features, and advantages ofthe present invention will become apparent in the following detailedwritten description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention may be better understood, and its numerousobjects, features, and advantages made apparent to those skilled in theart by referencing the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a computer system programmed to carry outlistener profiling and content distribution in accordance with oneimplementation of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram for an exemplary implementation of a listenerprofiling and content distribution system constructed in accordance withthe present invention, illustrating various entities interconnected viathe Internet;

FIGS. 3A-3B are block diagrams depicting a system and method for usinglistener profiling data to distribute and promote goods and services inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 4A-4D are charts mapping an organization of a database forprofiling-based promotion activities in accordance with one embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a chart illustrating the logical flow for a user behaviorcorrelation process in accordance with one implementation of the presentinvention; and

FIG. 6 is a chart illustrating the logical flow for a promotionredemption process in accordance with one implementation of the presentinvention.

The use of the same reference symbols in different drawings indicatessimilar or identical items.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

With reference now to the figures, and in particular with reference toFIG. 1, there is depicted one embodiment 10 of a computer system inwhich the present invention may be implemented to carry out listenerprofiling for improved content distribution. Computer system 10 is asymmetric multiprocessor (SMP) system having a plurality of processors12 a, 12 b connected to a system bus 14. System bus 14 is furtherconnected to a combined memory controller/host bridge (MC/HB) 16 whichprovides an interface to system memory 18. System memory 18 may be alocal memory device or alternatively may include a plurality ofdistributed memory devices, preferably dynamic random-access memory(DRAM). There may be additional structures in the memory hierarchy whichare not depicted, such as on-board (LI) and second level (L2) or thirdlevel (L3) caches.

MC/HB 16 also has an interface to peripheral component interconnect(PCI) Express links 20 a, 20 b, 20 c. Each PCI Express (PCIe) link 20 a,20 b is connected to a respective PCIe adaptor 22 a, 22 b, and each PCIeadaptor 22 a, 22 b is connected to a respective input/output (I/O)device 24 a, 24 b. MC/HB 16 may additionally have an interface to an I/Obus 26 which is connected to a switch (I/O fabric) 28. Switch 28provides a fan-out for the I/O bus to a plurality of PCI links 20 d, 20e, 20 f. These PCI links are connected to0 more PCIe adaptors 22 c, 22d, 22 e which in tum support more I/O devices 24 c, 24 d, 24 e. The I/Odevices may include, without limitation, a keyboard, a graphicalpointing device (mouse), a microphone, a display device, speakers,headphones, a permanent storage device (hard disk drive) or an array ofsuch storage devices, an optical disk drive, and a network card. EachPCIe adaptor provides an interface between the PCI link and therespective I/O device. MC/HB 16 provides a low latency path throughwhich processors 12 a, 12 b may access PCI devices mapped anywherewithin bus memory or I/O address spaces. MC/HB 16 further provides ahigh bandwidth path to allow the PCI devices to access memory 18. Switch28 may provide peer-to-peer communications between different endpointsand this data traffic does not need to be forwarded to MC/HB 16 if itdoes not involve cache-coherent memory transfers. Switch 28 is shown asa separate logical component, but it could be integrated into MC/HB 16.

In this embodiment, PCI link 20 c connects MC/HB 16 to a serviceprocessor interface 30 to allow communications between I/O device 24 aand a service processor 32. Service processor 32 is connected toprocessors 12 a, 12 b via a JTAG interface 34, and uses an attentionline 36 which interrupts the operation of processors 12 a, 12 b. Serviceprocessor 32 may have its own local memory 38, and is connected toread-only memory (ROM) 40 which stores various program instructions forsystem startup. Service processor 32 may also have access to a hardwareoperator panel 42 to provide system status and diagnostic information.

In alternative embodiments computer system 10 may include modificationsof these hardware components or their interconnections, or additionalcomponents, so the depicted example should not be construed as implyingany architectural limitations with respect to the present invention.

When computer system 10 is initially powered up, service processor 32uses JTAG interface 34 to interrogate the system (host) processors 12 a,12 b and MC/HB 16. After completing the interrogation, service processor32 acquires an inventory and topology for computer system 10. Serviceprocessor 32 then executes various tests such as built-in-self-tests(BISTs), basic assurance tests (BATs), and memory tests on thecomponents of computer system 10. Any error information for failuresdetected during the testing is reported by service processor 32 tooperator panel 42. If a valid configuration of system resources is stillpossible after taking out any components found to be faulty during thetesting, then computer system 10 is allowed to proceed. Executable codeis loaded into memory 18 and service processor 32 releases hostprocessors 12 a, 12 b for execution of the program code, e.g., anoperating system (OS) which is used to launch applications and inparticular the listener profiling and content distribution applicationof the present invention, results of which may be stored in a hard diskdrive of the system (an I/O device 24) or on other storage media. Whilehost processors 12 a, 12 b are executing program code, service processor32 may enter a mode of monitoring and reporting any operating parametersor errors, such as the cooling fan speed and operation, thermal sensors,power supply regulators, and recoverable and nonrecoverable errorsreported by any of processors 12 a, 12 b, memory 18, and MC/HB 16.Service processor 32 may take further action based on the type of errorsor defined thresholds.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, the present inventionmay be embodied as a system, method or computer program product.Accordingly, the present invention may take the form of an entirelyhardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment (includingfirmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or an embodimentcombining software and hardware aspects that may all generally bereferred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.” Furthermore,the present invention may take the form of a computer program productembodied in any tangible medium of expression having computer usableprogram code embodied in the medium.

Any combination of one or more computer usable or computer readablemedia may be utilized. The computer-usable or computer-readable mediummay be, for example but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic,optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus,device, or propagation medium. More specific examples (a non-exhaustivelist) of the computer-readable medium would include the following: anelectrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computerdiskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory(ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flashmemory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory(CDROM), an optical storage device, a transmission media such as thosesupporting the Internet or an intranet, or a magnetic storage device.The computer-usable or computer-readable medium could even be paper oranother suitable medium upon which the program is printed, as theprogram can be electronically captured, via, for instance, opticalscanning of the paper or other medium, then compiled, interpreted, orotherwise processed in a suitable manner, if necessary, and then storedin a computer memory. In the context of this invention, acomputer-usable or computer-readable medium may be any medium that cancontain or store the program for use by or in connection with theinstruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

Computer program code for carrying out operations of the presentinvention may be written in any combination of one or more programminglanguages, including an object oriented programming language such asJava, Smalltalk, C++ or the like and conventional procedural programminglanguages, written for a variety of platforms such as an AIX environmentor operating systems such as Windows 7 or Linux. The program code mayexecute entirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer,as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer andpartly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer orserver. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected tothe user's computer through any type of network, including a local areanetwork (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may bemade to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using anInternet Service Provider).

The present invention is described below with reference to flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems) andcomputer program products according to embodiments of the invention. Itwill be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/orblock diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computerprogram instructions. These computer program instructions may beprovided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purposecomputer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce amachine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor ofthe computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, createmeans for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchartand/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in acomputer-readable medium that can direct a computer or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readablemedium produce an article of manufacture including instruction meanswhich implement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. The computer program instructions may furtherbe loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processingapparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on thecomputer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computerimplemented process such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer or other programmable apparatus provide processes forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof code, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of theorder noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. Each block of the block diagrams and/orflowchart illustration, and combinations of blocks in the block diagramsand/or flowchart illustration, can be implemented by special purposehardware-based systems that perform the specified functions or acts, orcombinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.

Computer system 10 carries out program instructions for a novel listenerprofiling and content distribution system to improve listener retention.Accordingly, a program embodying the invention may include conventionalaspects of various audience analysis tools, and these details willbecome apparent to those skilled in the art upon reference to thisdisclosure.

Referring to FIG. 2 a block diagram illustrates one example of alistener profiling and content distribution system having variousinternet based entities (IBEs), including data harvesters, internetanalytics, loyalty programs, content distribution networks, subscribersystems, metric services, ad agencies, internet advertising services,and other similar IBE's (represented by companies such as Clear ChannelRadio Digital (CCRD) or Clear Channel Online Music & Radio (CCOMR),Double Click, Omniture, Enticent, Ando Media, Limelight, Microsoft, andsimilar), listener identifying entities, associated databases forstoring listener and activity metadata, media outlets, and functionalworkstations for users/listeners who connect to content providers (suchas CCRD) via the Internet.

In some embodiments a content provider such as content provider 98 canacquire data about its clients or listeners and store the data inlistener database 124. Content provider 98 can use the data in thelistener database 124 to profile listeners and the public to betterunderstand and engage actual and potential listeners, audience, clientsor the public generally. A profiling system can include a user device oruser interface (UI) 80, to accept user data and servers and workstationsto carry out anyone of a number of functions relating to manipulatingthe user data, the distribution of content and advertising and theacquisition, analysis of audience consumption related data. The userdevice 80 (or user) can be assigned one or more listener identifiers(IDs). Each listener can have one unique listener ID that can beutilized to coordinate listener data from various sources at variouslocations by associating the listener identifiers. The IDs can bedetected by a network activity monitor 94 and all of the IDs can use theunified listener identifier (ULID) system 116 to link the user IDs to asingle ULID. User IDs can be cookies of a user, data input by the user,media access control (MAC) addresses, and the like that can beassociated with user input, activity, preferences, etc. The illustratedsystem can assign and retain one or more cross-domain unique andanonymous listener ID via one or more cookies or other data or metadatathat can be used for tracking a listener's online activity and generallistening and purchasing activities. The ID and the activity can bestored in listener profile databases as updated by monitoring entitiessuch as data harvester 94. The data in the listener database can be usedto group users and create user profiles for purpose of collectingadditional listener data and for tailoring content (advertising andnon-advertising) for consumption by the listener.

Content provider 98 can provide audio and visual content (advertisingand non) via data streams to radio station websites via a ContentDelivery Network (CDN) 130. Such a CDN and can be provided by Akamai andLimelight. CDNs 130 can manage internet radio streams and websites forinternet radio portals such as Clear Channel iHeartRadio. CDN can alsoprovide streams to other types of receivers, hardware and applications118 including mobile hardware and applications via subscriber networkssuch as providers Research in Motion, Sprint, Verizon, and other similarsubscriber and non-subscriber services 93. The CDNs can providestreaming services for content provider in many formats such as a Flashmedia file format or similar according to Intermediary and userrequirements.

Internet advertising services, ad agencies, ad management entities, adservice providers, listener appreciation and loyalty programs, andinternet analytics can all control ad server 102 to produce content. Adserver 102 can provide services that are sold primarily to advertisingagencies 114, media companies and publishers to allow clients totraffic, target, deliver, and report on the success of their interactiveadvertising campaigns. Ad server 102 can automate the ad process foradvertisers and can provide or perform targeted ads upon request in nearreal time. In some embodiments ad server 102 can consolidate processesand efforts required to facilitate an advertiser's ad buying cycle. Adserver 102 can facilitate the performance of ad related services and themanagement of ad inventory for publishers and advertisers. Ad server 102can increase the purchasing efficiency of advertisers and minimizeunsold inventory for publishers.

Although many of the blocks in FIG. 2 are illustrated as a standaloneprocess or application, the actual product can operate on many operatingsystems and platforms thorough the system and network illustrated inFIG. 2. Ad server 102 can retrieve ads from ad database 112 and canprovide ads to content provider 98 based on user metrics and parametersthat are acquired by content provider 98. Ad server 102 can react inreal time to the real time acquisition of user data and can supplementsuch real-time user data with data stored in content provider's listenerdatabase 124. The ads can be stored in ad database 112 and can beorganized according to metadata that indicates that best application ofthe ad, parameters of the target for the ad such as sex, age,demographics, social class, etc. Ad server 102 can retrieveadvertisements from advertising database 112 in real time and provideads to a listener station 118 or subscriber devices 93 in real time (orwithin seconds) based on numerous rules-based criteria.

For example, in real time or near real time, listener metrics service108, internet analytics 110 and listener loyalty service can direct adserver 102 to communicate with listener database 124, customer pointsdatabase 106, listener metrics service 108, internet analytics provider110 and uniform listener identifier database 116 to create and deliver aquestion, an offer, a promotion, a targeted ad, a coupon etc. andacquire a listener reaction or response. Such a multifunction offeringallows content provider 98 to learn more about its clients or mediaconsumers.

Data harvester 94 can acquire data being exchanged over the Internet 92and Internet analytics provider 110 can refine and analyze the data toprovide information useful to content provider 98 regarding listenerhabits and activities, the number of and success of targeted ads,listener reaction including listener communications such as replies tosurveys, and creation of and success of incentive based programs forlisteners (such as a customer points program 106). Thus, internetanalytics provider 110 can provide feedback to advertisers includingdata on adverting reach and success for a particular campaign. The datacan include listener reactions to a particular ad or content, thecreation of consumer profiles and common reactions to ads and contentfor a particular profile. The data can be used to create and acquireconsumer parameters, listener profiles, listener habits etc. Suchcontent and reactions can be classified and analyzed based on music,news content, ad format, type of graphics, composition tempo, artists,time of day, demographics, what phenomena occurs prior to a listenerchanging streams, etc.

Thus, internet analytics provider 110 can analyze listener data byanalyzing Internet traffic data, streams served, time spent listening,browsing habits, purchasing data such as the purchase of contentdownloads, listener actions such as tune in tune out bum out, listentime, listener habits/selections, time based listener trends, listenerpreference, listener satisfaction, content or purchases or just useractivities, link selection, listener subscriptions, listener downloadsand any other relevant feedback. Content provider 98 can use thelistener data to improve ad response and listenership possibly throughadding and/or modifying programming via playlists, play list rulesand/or advertising rules. Internet analytics provider 110 can also actas a marketing agent or/and provide functions such as described withrespect to internet ad service 102 and can provide listener targetingfor content and ads and determine what elements of content generationand a content delivery system will increase listener engagement, musicdiscovery, and other metrics and provide such information to contentprovider 98.

Listener loyalty service 106 can facilitate listener loyalty programs byproviding data, points or tokens to listeners for time spent listening,a number of times and how long the listener was connected to a site or astream, for interactive and non-interactive feedback or communication.Such a program can be provided by and controlled by content provider 98.CDNs 130 and/or data harvester 94 can detect listeners who areconnected, and metrics associated with their activities and can providethis information to listener loyalty services 106 and content provider98.

Subscriber services 93 can acquire and manage listener subscriptions andcan offer the services disclosed with regard to listener dataacquisition, processing and any change in activity that is based on suchdata processing. Subscription service 93 can provide listener data tocontent provider 98 and content provider can use the data to improve itsmobile offing. Subscriber services can provide interactive campaigns,such surveys or listener programs through Short Message Service (SMS),Mobile Web/WAP (“Wireless Application Protocol”), or a similarcommunication format and can provide mobile advertising and efficientlyconnect brands with audiences with the assistance of content provider98. Subscription services 93 can access advertising database 112,listener database 124, metric service 108, loyalty programs 106 andvarious other services or application to acquire and deliver appropriateand preferred ads to improve ad efficiency.

E-mails server 122 can be utilized by most, if not all any of theapplications and services illustrated (IBEs) in FIG. 2. For example,E-mail server can be utilized by content provider to acquire listenerdata and to send target e-mails to listeners to gather various types oflistener data from all over the world. All IBEs can utilize such aninteractive communication to provide content, get reactions and thusacquire data. Data harvester 94 can monitor and acquire data related tocontests and surveys via the e-mail server 122. These communications canoriginate from a content provider such as streaming radio station.Resultant data from these communications can be gathered, aggregated,analyzed, and utilized by internet analytics service 110 for the contentprovider 98. The data harvester 94 can utilize an anonymous user ID“cookie” as tracked by the CDN 106 and the aggregated cookie data can becompiled using the ULID database 116 such that data associated withmultiple identifiers can all be linked to a single user, a group ofusers, a household etc.

The disclosed arrangements can acquire listener data including point topoint feedback and can provide listener loyalty or retention mechanismsrelated to a particular show, audio stream, or terrestrial broadcastusing the IBE's disclosed. Listener trend service can acquire and usedata that explains and predicts trends in listener behavior. Audiencedata harvester 94 can be any service such as Arbitron, Nielsen,Omniture, Enticent or Media Monitors that provides any type of audiencedata such as rating, rankings, profiling, and listener data. Contentprovider can also associate the listener data with polling results,audience reaction, etc. and can further include data such as listenerreaction, song popularity and artist popularity, and advertising contentand processes can be modified in response to listener reaction. Listenerdata can be associated with the content data information and listenerdata may be utilized by content provider 98 to conduct businessopportunity modeling that can suggest business opportunities to radiostations, advertisers, ISPs and entities in the entertainment industry.

In some embodiments, content providers 98 use of the data in thelistener database 124 can be utilized to conduct business opportunitymodeling that analyzes the listener data as it applies to specificcontent such as ads and songs and suggest profitable strategies for aparticular station or stream based on listener data such as listenerretention data. For example, if a specific talk show host or recordingartist has a large following then content provider 98 can obtain suchinformation and predict whether a relationship with the host or artistor what kind of business arrangement should be profitable. Likewise,content provider 98 may provide an advertiser with a business case wherethe cost of an endorsement, or a royalty arrangement from an endorsementis known or can be estimated and based on the listener data and thepopularity of talent. Using listener data and the processing thereof,content provider 98 can provide an advertiser with an estimate of howmany audience reactions can be achieved with a particular content andthus estimate what the cost per successful listener impression will befor a contemplated ad. Content provider 98 can also use listener data toprovide an advertiser with the cost value trade off when using aparticular format, content or artist in a particular way. Using listenerdata content provider can review listener data in the databases andbased on weightings, rules and/or artificial intelligence routines cansuggest successful changes to websites, playlists and advertisingcontent.

Content provider 98 can provide a unified registration and log-inprocess for all listener interface systems, UI 80 on all platforms thatwill accept or acquire user input. As stated above, a listener profilecan be a multi-level profile, registering member across all platformswith different IDs all being associated in one way or another with amaster ID. For example, sign-up/log-in to a website can track a user ona page they were/are interacting with any of the IBEs. An administrationtool can be used by content provider 98 to allow management oflisteners/members, management and processing of listener data and theviewing of listener data such as listener demographics.

In some embodiments content provider 98 can acquire and collect listenerdata in parts using single-sign-on (SSO) database as central repository.Data can be collected via the e-mail server having an engine, via acontesting engine, and via a national overlay which can manage e-mailbased on opt-in and report accordingly.

Content provider 98 can also integrate its processes with a subscriptionservice 93 by leveraging single-sign-on parameters to integrate contentproviders listener data acquisition and storage with subscriptionservices 93. Such a service 93 can be optimized by centralizing theprocess into a hub subscription management system (not shown). Thelistener data and its results can be migrated to a single subscriptionservices provider 93, or to multiple providers 93 using a commoninterface. Content provided using the listener database and interactingwith the subscription service provider can facilitate creation andeconomize various trials, subscription lengths, and bundles according tothe listener data. A listener can access content providers' networksfrom multiple entry points, such as internet devices, mobilecommunication devices, etc., and the subscription service 93 can providethe listener with pricing flexibility, a tailored, possibly unique orsingle customer care center and can provide analysis tools. Contentprovider 98 can acquire and retain listener/consumer data acquired bythe subscription service 93 and add such data to the listener databaseas part of the listener profile. It is envisioned that the dataacquisition process will be flexible to accommodate future businessmodels, technologies and devices.

Content provider 98 can integrate listener loyalty ratings into a userprofile, where a listener can have a different loyalty rating tomultiple formats or a variety of content. The loyalty ratings can beintegrated into all IBEs. The system also has survey capabilities andthe ability to target surveys to listeners that will provide the mostbenefit. Content provider 98 can set up and collect data regardinglistener age, sex, social class, and preferences. One embodiment of alistener profiling system is seen in FIGS. 3A-3B. According to thisexample, profiling listeners of streaming content may include profilingfeatures of a radio station internet website, profiling features of webstream content via CDN, and profiling features of mobile stream contentvia CDN.

Content provider 98 can also use the listener data base to facilitatebehavioral tracking of listeners. As described above, tracking can useone or more unique identifiers using identifiers in multiple activitiesby inserting the identifiers into cookies, or similar storage vehicles.The listener data base can be appended, or a listener profile can beexpanded, as the listener participates in, or opts-in to more servicesor more tagged listener data is acquired. Accordingly, content providerscan create profiles for individual listeners and store the profiles andlistener data, and then use the data in multiple steps of the overalladvertising process.

The content provider 98 can be a radio station with a website. Theinteraction between listener loyalty services 106 and content provider98 allows for the content provider 98 via a radio station website tointeract with a listener. Based on displaying activities and pointsassociated with activities a user can interact with the website and alistener profile can be built from such an interaction. After a useractivity that radio website can send a listener identifier, an activityidentifier that identifies the activity that the listener hassatisfactorily performed, a point value associated with the activity,and a description of the activity to the listener loyalty servicesprovider 106. The listener loyalty service can provide act as a clearinghouse or data warehouse and can accumulate points for each listener. Thelisteners can also use the listener loyalty service to redeem points forprizes.

Thus, the credit points can be awarded for activity by a listener thatoccur external to the listener loyalty service 106 or its website.Multiple activity codes are acknowledged by the listener loyalty service106 and such codes can be set up by the content provider. Each activitycode can have a default description and default point value, which canbe overwritten with each posting or recording of an activity by thelistener loyalty service 106. The description of an activity can be anexplanation of the action taken by the member, and the point value canbe calculated by functions such as an exponential number of pointsawarded for an increase in time or a simple multiplier. The loyaltyservice can report back to the content provider website 98 in real timeso a listener can have up to the minute information regarding how manypoints the listener has and how many points can be earned by taking theaction. The activity description and point value can show up in themember's activity history screen on the rewards site to enable membersto see what they were credited for in real time. Each activity code canalso be set up with specific limits. The limits can control howfrequently a member can earn points for a specific activity (e.g., oncein a lifetime, once a month, once per week, once per day). IP Address ofserver accessing the posting acceptor of the listener loyalty serviceprovider 106 can be stored to only allow authorized access to theservice. Listener profiles can be expanded as the system acquires dataand ads can be tailored to the listener based on the listener's profile.FIGS. 4A-4D illustrate an extended chart mapping an organization of adatabase for profiling-based promotion activities in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention. In this example the databaseelements are partitioned into data consumption elements and databasecontribution elements.

In some embodiments the system can be implemented as a central servercomputer where the computer can use device identifiers to facilitate themining of user behavioral information and the use of such information toselect and then deliver content to the device. Thus, the system canoperate without gathering or storing any personal possibly confidentialinformation. However, the data harvester 94 might use names etc. toassociate different devices that a single user utilizes to communicatewith websites. Data harvester 94 can use a device identifier to identifya device used to accesses a streaming media site and can storeinformation associated with the media site. Data harvester 94 canmonitor and store information associated with behaviors of a user of theuser device. The data might indicate a general or specific userbehavior, action, or result of such action, for example what content theuser is listening to, what websites the user visits, and whatactivities, interactions or behavior the user exhibits while at eachsite.

In some embodiments, the media site can assign credits to the user orthe user's device and can make promotions available to the user based onthe user's behavior. The media site can then accept the credits astender for one or more of the promotions. In some embodiments one ormore listener classifications can be assigned to the user based on thestored behavior information. The media site can select content from apool of content to be sent to the user based on the classifications thatare assigned to the listener.

The data harvester 94 can gather data pertaining to an individual'slistening behavior by obtaining a first set of behavioral data fromactivities of the user when the user visits a website via a firstdevice, for example a desktop computer. When the user visits a secondwebsite possibly through a second device for example a smart phone, dataharvester 94 can assign a different user identifier to the user.

In some embodiments, the second website visited can provide a differentproduct or service than the first website. The data harvester 94 cancorrelate the first behavioral information with the second behavioralinformation to determine that the first behavioral information and thesecond behavioral information are that of the single user. The data canbe associated based on common data such as a name username password,address date of birth, age sex, screen name, etc. Based on the qualityof the match the association can be rated. When the system can findcommonality, as the data harvester 94 can associate the first useridentifier with the second user identifier and place the data in asingle database or relate entries in a database, the first and secondbehavioral information can be merged.

In some embodiments, the user or user device can be classified byassigning the user with one of more listener profile classifications tothe user or user ID based on the merged behavioral information. The usermight be assigned a ranking or a weight as to each classification where,the user might be assigned a 10 on a scale of 1 to 10 to theclassification of female if the system has strong evidence that the useris female where the user might be assigned a 5 to the classification ofincome if the system can imply but the system 100 has no hard evidencethat the user is in a particular income bracket.

The advertising service provider 102 can use the listener profileclassification to selecting content, such as an advertisement from apool of advertisements based on the listener's classifications and theirapplicability. In some embodiments a network-based advertisementplacement service provider can provide such a selection process based onextensive metadata.

In some embodiments, the promotions server, the loyalty service 106 orthe content server 98 can select content from a pool of content for aparticular user based on the merged data. After the content is selectedit can be sent or transmitted to one of the devices that are associatedwith the user such as a smart phone of a desktop computer or a receivermounted in the dash of an automobile. The selection and transmission ofthe content can be performed in real time or near real time where whenthe system determines that the user is on-line, connected to, or incommunication with a particular site, such as a streaming media site.Charts illustrating logical flows for generalized processes inaccordance with certain implementations of present invention are furtherillustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6.

Although the invention has been described with reference to specificembodiments, this description is not meant to be construed in a limitingsense. Various modifications of the disclosed embodiments, as well asalternative embodiments of the invention, will become apparent topersons skilled in the art upon reference to the description of theinvention. It is therefore contemplated that such modifications can bemade without departing from the spirit or scope of the present inventionas defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: obtaining a first cookiefrom a first device via a communications network, wherein the firstcookie includes a first identifier corresponding to a registered useridentifier stored in a database, and wherein the registered useridentifier is associated with first information stored in the database,the first information indicating activities related to interactions of aregistered user with a first website; obtaining a second cookie from asecond device via the communications network, wherein the second cookieincludes a second identifier corresponding to an anonymous useridentifier stored in the database, and wherein the anonymous useridentifier is associated with second information stored in the database,the second information indicating activities related to interactions ofan anonymous user with a second website; correlating the firstinformation and the second information to determine commonalitiesbetween the first information and the second information; in response toidentifying at least one commonality of the commonalities: determiningthat the registered user and the anonymous user are a single user basedon the at least one commonality; and automatically updating the databaseto include a unified listener identifier (ULID) associating the firstinformation with the second information by linking the registered useridentifier with the anonymous user identifier.
 2. The method of claim 1,further comprising: associating the ULID with one or more listenerprofile classifications based on aggregated information, wherein theaggregated information includes both the first information obtainedusing the first cookie and the second cookie.
 3. The method of claim 2,further comprising: selecting content for delivery to the second devicebased on the aggregated information.
 4. The method of claim 3, furthercomprising: selecting content for delivery to the first device based onthe aggregated information.
 5. The method of claim 2, furthercomprising: assigning a weight to the one or more listener profileclassifications based on a quality of the correlation.
 6. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising: in response to identifying at least onecommonality of the commonalities, inserting the ULID into a cookiedelivered to the first device.
 7. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: in response to identifying at least one commonality of thecommonalities, inserting the ULID into a cookie delivered to the seconddevice.
 8. A device comprising: a processor and associated memory; anetwork interface coupled to the processor and to a communicationsnetwork, the network interface configured to: obtain a first cookie froma first device via the communications network, wherein the first cookieincludes a first identifier corresponding to a registered useridentifier stored in a database, and wherein the registered useridentifier is associated with first information stored in the database,the first information indicating activities related to interactions of aregistered user with a first website; obtain a second cookie from asecond device via the communications network, wherein the second cookieincludes a second identifier corresponding to an anonymous useridentifier stored in the database, and wherein the anonymous useridentifier is associated with second information stored in the database,the second information indicating activities related to interactions ofan anonymous user with a second website; a processor and associatedmemory configured to: correlate the first information and the secondinformation to determine commonalities between the first information andthe second information; in response to identifying at least onecommonality of the commonalities: determine that the registered user andthe anonymous user are a single user based on the at least onecommonality; and automatically update the database to include a unifiedlistener identifier (ULID) associating the first information with thesecond information by linking the registered user identifier with theanonymous user identifier.
 9. The device of claim 8, wherein theprocessor and associated memory are further configured to: associate theULID with one or more listener profile classifications based onaggregated information, wherein the aggregated information includes boththe first information obtained using the first cookie and the secondcookie.
 10. The device of claim 9, wherein the processor and associatedmemory are further configured to: select content for delivery to thesecond device based on the aggregated information.
 11. The device ofclaim 10, wherein the processor and associated memory are furtherconfigured to: select content for delivery to the first device based onthe aggregated information.
 12. The device of claim 9, wherein theprocessor and associated memory are further configured to: assign aweight to the one or more listener profile classifications based on aquality of the correlation.
 13. The device of claim 8, wherein theprocessor and associated memory are further configured to: insert theULID into a cookie delivered to the first device, in response toidentifying at least one commonality of the commonalities.
 14. Thedevice of claim 8, wherein the processor and associated memory arefurther configured to: insert the ULID into a cookie delivered to thesecond device, in response to identifying at least one commonality ofthe commonalities.
 15. A non-transitory computer readable mediumtangibly embodying a program of instructions to be stored in a memoryand executed by a processor, the non-transitory computer readable mediumcomprising: at least one instruction to obtain a first cookie from afirst device via a communications network, wherein the first cookieincludes a first identifier corresponding to a registered useridentifier stored in a database, and wherein the registered useridentifier is associated with first information stored in the database,the first information indicating activities related to interactions of aregistered user with a first website; at least one instruction to obtaina second cookie from a second device via the communications network,wherein the second cookie includes a second identifier corresponding toan anonymous user identifier stored in the database, and wherein theanonymous user identifier is associated with second information storedin the database, the second information indicating activities related tointeractions of an anonymous user with a second website; at least oneinstruction to correlate the first information and the secondinformation to determine commonalities between the first information andthe second information; at least one instruction to determine that theregistered user and the anonymous user are a single user based on atleast one commonality of the commonalities, in response to identifyingat least; and at least one instruction to automatically update thedatabase to include a unified listener identifier (ULID) associating thefirst information with the second information by linking the registereduser identifier with the anonymous user identifier, in response toidentifying at least one commonality of the commonalities to.
 16. Thenon-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15, further comprising:at least one instruction to associate the ULID with one or more listenerprofile classifications based on aggregated information, wherein theaggregated information includes both the first information obtainedusing the first cookie and the second cookie.
 17. The non-transitorycomputer readable medium of claim 16, further comprising: at least oneinstruction to select content for delivery to the second device based onthe aggregated information.
 18. The non-transitory computer readablemedium of claim 17, further comprising: at least one instruction toselect content for delivery to the first device based on the aggregatedinformation.
 19. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim16, further comprising: at least one instruction to assign a weight tothe one or more listener profile classifications based on a quality ofthe correlation.
 20. The non-transitory computer readable medium ofclaim 15, further comprising: at least one instruction to insert theULID into a cookie delivered to at least one of the first device or thesecond device, in response to identifying at least one commonality ofthe commonalities.